A budgeting guru has shared a “hack” that she claims could save you a fortune when shopping, and if you’re not already doing it, you’re simply “throwing money away”. Laura Shahu, who frequently posts financial advice on TikTok, insists that her method is helping her rapidly pay down her mortgage.
“I literally cannot stress this enough,” she said in a video. “If you’re not paying for your shopping with gift cards in 2025 then you’re throwing money down the drain.”
Laura revealed that by using this technique, she’s managed to save “tens of thousands of pounds” which she’s been putting straight towards her mortgage payments. “It’s so easy, it’s absolutely ridiculous.” So what’s her secret to such significant savings?
“All I do is pay for my shopping with gift cards and then use the cashback I get from doing so to overpay my mortgage for free,” Laura explained. “It saves me tens of thousands of pounds in interest.”
Thanks to her savvy approach, she says she’s on course to be mortgage-free an impressive 15 years earlier than expected. “I use the everup or JamDoughnut apps to search for the shop that I’m buying from – whether that’s in-store or online – because they give the best cashback rates in my opinion, and then I buy a gift card,” she explained.
To finish off her money-saving process, Laura revealed she receives “automatic cashback” from these apps, which she then uses to make overpayments on her mortgage through another app called Sprive. “You can pay your mortgage directly though, if that’s what you want to do,” she concluded.
TikTok users are heaping praise on money-saving tips shared by savvy individuals, with one user expressing gratitude: “Thanks so much for the advice, got everup last month, £50 already, cashed in and another £12 just by doing the shopping I would already be doing!”
Another hailed the tip: “This is brilliant.” A third person suggested an alternative method, noting: “A points credit card will save significantly more money if you holiday each year.”
Meanwhile, further enhancing Laura’s approach, a fourth contributor stated: “Even better… understanding compound interest and you can pay a mortgage in around seven years and no interest paid… still paying every month as normal and an extra £30 to £31 per month by paying £1 every day till next payment is due. Need to be on variable to do this.”
However, not all social media users were convinced, with one voicing scepticism: “What is the catch though? Is it just them having your data because it is quite intrusive having Sprive track all your accounts. Like what is the trade off or is it just the data? Has anyone seen any legitimate articles/Martin Lewis talking about this? I can’t find much.”
everup explains the process adopted by Laura on it’s website, informing: “Using gift cards wisely allows you to save significantly on your purchases. Think of gift cards as branded currency; for instance, purchasing a £29 Nike gift card is akin to buying £29 in Nike money, which you spend using a barcode or online code.
“When you use gift cards, you receive benefits such as cashback, which can be applied to future purchases or even redeemed to your bank account. Additionally, most programs offer “coins” or allow you to participate in free games that provide extra cashback opportunities, such as spinning wheels or scratch cards.”
